Software for Automatic Conversion of Professional Journals to Fully Accessible Fo

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的长期目标是创建技术，允许专业期刊的作者和出版商轻松地以所有人都可以使用的形式提供其内容，特别是盲人或其他严重印刷障碍的人。SBIR项目第一阶段的具体目标是评估将美国物理学会出版的当前期刊自动转换为DAISY（数字可扩展信息系统）格式的可行性。DAISY（www.DAISY.org）是一个电子文件的国际标准，所有人都可以使用，但特别是不能阅读正常印刷材料的残疾人。PI是DAISY工作组的成员，该工作组最近扩展了DAISY规范，以包括MathML标记语言形式的数学，并且是当前DAISY工作组的成员，该工作组制定了将图形信息作为可访问的可缩放矢量图形（SVG）的指导方针。作为该提案的一部分，将为最近一期《物理评论快报》（美国物理学会的旗舰期刊）上的所有文章创建DAISY原型。这些原型将完成完全可访问的文本，数学和图形。文本和数学访问应该是优秀的。最大的挑战是使图形可访问。ViewPlus已经开发出了一些技术，可以使人们普遍访问结构良好的带注释的SVG格式的图形信息。当前APS内容的自动转换将不包括注释，因此某些图形将无法很好地访问。如果自动转换提供了可接受的访问大多数内容，它是可行的，以无障碍的形式提供最新的APS和可能的许多其他专业学会期刊。人工编辑可以根据需要快速改进数字，添加注释并纠正文本错误。通过改进的创作和发布技术，可以在未来实现对自动转换的内容的更好的可访问性。这一项目可以大大改善印刷品阅读障碍者对技术出版物和任何其他以图形信息为重要内容的文献的无障碍程度。更好的信息获取显然可以改善盲人或其他严重印刷障碍者的教育和职业机会以及生活质量。盲人的生活质量问题是国家眼科研究所的使命的一部分。该提案与国家眼科研究所的使命相关，因为它可能导致科学专业期刊在出版后立即提供给盲人专业人员，而无需人工助理的干预。它还应该增加对其他出版商的压力，使他们的文学作品能够普遍获得。这一成就将对盲人的教育和职业机会、心理健康和生活质量产生明显的非常有益的直接影响。盲人的心理健康和生活质量问题是国家眼科研究所的使命的一部分。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long range goal of this project is to create technologies that permit authors and publishers of professional journals easily to make their content available in a form that is fully usable by all people, in particular by people who are blind or have other severe print disabilities. The specific aim of this Phase I SBIR project is to assess the feasibility of automatic transformation of current journals published by the American Physical Society into DAISY (Digital Accessible Information SYstem) format. DAISY (http://www.DAISY.org) is an international standard for electronic documents accessible to all people, but in particular to people with disabilities who cannot read normal printed materials. The PI was a member of the DAISY working group that recently expanded the DAISY specifications to include math in form of the MathML markup language and is a member of the current DAISY working group developing guidelines for including graphical information as accessible Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). As part of this proposal, DAISY prototypes will be created for all articles in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters, the flagship journal of the American Physical Society. These prototypes will be complete with fully accessible text, math, and graphics. Text and math access should be excellent. The greatest challenge is making the graphics accessible. ViewPlus has already developed technologies that make possible universal access to graphical information in well-structured annotated SVG format. Automatic conversion of current APS content would include no annotations, so some figures would not be excellently accessible. If automatic conversion gives acceptable access to most content, it is feasible to provide current APS and possibly many other professional society journals in accessible form. Human editors could quickly improve figures on demand to add annotations and correct text errors. Improved accessibility to automatically converted content is achievable in the future with improved authoring and publishing technologies. This project could stimulate vast improvements in accessibility by people with print disabilities to technical publications and any other literature in which graphical information is important. Better information access obviously can lead to improvement in educational and professional opportunities and quality of life for people who are blind or have other severe print disabilities. Quality of life issues for blind people are part of the mission of the National Eye Institute.This proposal is relevant to the mission of the National Eye Institute, because it could lead to making scientific professional journals available to blind professionals immediately on publication without need for intervention by human assistants. It should also increase pressure on other publishers to make their literature universally accessible. This achievement would have an obviously highly beneficial direct effect on education and professional opportunities, mental health, and quality of life of blind people. Mental health and quality of life issues for blind people are parts of the mission of the National Eye Institute.